The Sky Levianthans
by Theleyak
Summary: After his defeat, the REAL hero of Knight's & Magic is given a new start.
1. Chapter 1

"Where will your aesthetics take you, Ernesti Echevalier?" Oratio Gojass murmured, eyeing the transport ship through a telescope. "I can't wait to find out." he shut the telescope and gripped the steering vanes of his micro-Levitate Ship. _I must come up with a better name_ , he mused. Aloud, he continued: "Of course, you'll be learning more about my theories soon enough. Now, where should I sell my technology next?" he chuckled, opening a battered map. Fremevilla was obviously out— they would remain sore about the recent unpleasantness for most of Gojass's lifetime.

His fingers wandered over the map for a time. He'd need a country with a strong enough military to face down Fremevilla, but they couldn't be so convinced of their own superiority as to reject him out of hand. That narrowed things down quite a bit. Gojass's eyes, almost of their own accord, drifted towards a ragged diamond shape labeled "Brittania."

Minutes later, Ernesti's flying battleship was little more than a speck on the horizon as Gojass's craft winged its way to the north. Thanks to its miniature Ether Reactor, the little craft had plenty of range for the long journey, though Gojass would have to stop a few times to replenish his food and water. The last such stop he took in a small fishing town at the edge of the sea. He set the micro-Levitate Ship in a small grove outside the town, removing a small but vital bolt on the throttle lever that left the machine immobile.

The town was unremarkable; Gojass had seen dozens of its like in his travels. After buying some food, he visited the town's blacksmith, deeming it wise to stock up on a few spare parts before flying across the ocean. The blacksmith was an older man for his profession, with the first streaks of gray entering his hair as he worked and sweated over the anvil. Gojass tapped his finger crossly as he waited for the man to finish. At last, the blacksmith turned around and noticed the waiting Gojass.

"Can I help you?" he asked, his tone indicating he rather hoped he couldn't.

"I need a few parts. Have you any three-inch lead piping, fifteen-tooth bevel gears, or Odham couplers?"

"I might. What will you give me for it?"

"Two gold pieces is plenty."

"Not out here, it's not. Five."

"Five?" Gojass demanded. "That's absurd!"

"Look, asshole, you ever hear of supply and fucking demand? I'm the only blacksmith for a hundred miles. You have any idea how hard it is to get iron shipped up here? It's five gold because it costs me four and a half just to get the damn materials I need to make your stupid gears."

"How far do you have to ship your iron?" Gojass asked, bewildered.

"Two hundred miles to the nearest mine." The blacksmith replied. There just isn't any ore around here. We've got plenty of copper, but there just isn't any iron in the rocks 'round here."

That was something of a problem. "Is this the case further north?"

"It's worse, if anything. They've got no iron at all, and even their copper is mixed in with this worthless crap they call Bauxite. Practically everything's made of wood up there— they haven't got anything else."

"I suppose that means they have no silhouette knights?" Gojass half-asked.

"They do, actually." The blacksmith replied. "Crummy ones they bought years back from Zaloudek, but better than nothing."

Then there was a chance after all. Gojass paid the blacksmith his ludicrous five gold for the spares, then made his way back to his micro-Levitate Ship. After re-inserting the bolt, he powered up the ship and sent it humming over the ocean.

Hours later, Gojass awoke to the depressing, gray island of Brittania. The sky was deeply overcast, and a thin, miserable drizzle was falling. A dirty white seagull perched on one corner of his micro-Levitate ship ( _I MUST think of a better name_ , Gojass insisted to himself again). He shooed it away and set about finding the royal palace with his spyglass. It was not a difficult job, and a few minutes later he was gently easing the micro-Levitate Ship down towards the palace's gates. The pair of guards stationed inside the barbican ran out, keeping the heads of their copper spears pointed a suspicious but respectful distance from the bottom of his ship.

Gojass brought the ship to a near-silent landing and raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I mean you no harm, gentlemen." He chuckled. "In fact, I do believe I will be quite the opposite. Take me to the king, please."

After a brief discussion, one guard remained, keeping his spear aimed steadily at Gojass's chest. The other ran off to go fetch his superior. A few minutes later, a man of about thirty, wearing plain peasant's dress arrived. "You are the driver of a flying machine?" he asked.

"I am." Gojass said. "And I am here to sell my skills to your king. Go fetch him, for I will not negotiate with subordinates."

"I am the king." The man said.

Gojass laughed. "Ridiculous! No king would ever look as you do, dressed in clothes dragged out of the gutter. Go fetch your master, and perhaps I will not have you whipped."

"Sam, kill him." The man said.

The guard hefted his spear, preparing to plunge it into Gojass's chest.

"Wait!" Gojass protested. "Fine. I'll talk with you. My name is Oratio Gojass, most recently of the Zaloudek Empire, which I regret to inform you has been destroyed by its enemies. In exchange for asylum and…a small stipend, I will give you all the secrets of my incredible Levitate Ships!"

The "king" appeared to think for a moment. "That is a tempting offer. I suppose you are aware of how scarce many of the materials needed for Silhouette Knights are on this island?"

"Of course." Gojass replied. "But an engineer such as I sees not a disadvantage, but a challenge."

"Well said." The "king" cracked a smile. "Call me King Arthur. We can discuss the terms of your contract inside."

"Very well." Gojass climbed out of the micro-levitate ship and added just enough power to render it weightless before leaving it to the two guards to pull it behind him.

Inside, the palace was well-decorated, but it was a far cry from the splendiferous royal palace of Zaloudek. The furnishing here were lovingly crafted, expertly assembled, but there was little gold, silver, or jewels. Wood and stone were the most common surfaces, with scattered tapestries and rugs to soften them. This was, undoubtedly a poor kingdom, and Gojass wondered to himself whether they could afford his admittedly exorbitant fees.

"Now, then." Arthur said, sitting down behind a plain wooden desk, heaped high with papers and scrolls. "How much do you believe your services are worth?"

"They are nearly invaluable." Gojass breezed. "My ability to make Levitate ships is but a single one of my skills. I have refined the design of Silhouette knights to a height only a single individual has ever managed to match. My Ether reactors are more powerful than any other design yet conceived, and yet I have only begun scratching the surface of my talents."

Arthur looked singularly unimpressed. "How much do you cost?" he said flatly.

"A-about a thousand gold pieces. A month." Gojass said.

"Done." Said the king.

"How…" Gojass began, before cutting himself off.

"How could I afford that?" Arthur grinned. "Come with me for a moment."

He led Gojass deep into the palace, down a long, narrow staircase guarded by four more guards, this time with steel spears. Opening the door, Gojass gaped. Below him was more gold, silver, and gems than he had ever seen in his life, and for a man who had lived in Zaloudek, that was an impressive statement.

"An odd thing," Arthur commented. "A king who doesn't fritter away his money on dishes and fine clothes suddenly has a lot more to spend on his subjects."

"How…unorthodox." Gojass murmured.

"Thank you." The king replied. "Now, I have a challenge for a man of your talents."

"Oh?"

The kind waded into the sea of treasure, searching for something. He pulled out a chunk of silvery metal, formed into a lumpy shape by what must have been natural forces. "I put a bounty of a gold piece on these for the children." He explained. "It's an odd sort of metal, incredibly light and strong. We just don't know where it comes from. I want you to find out."

"My expertise is in Silhouette Knights, not metallurgy." Gojass deigned to weigh the metal in one hand. It was indeed as oddly light as Arthur suggested, though there was no way to test its strength. It could be an ideal metal to make Silhouette Knights out of… if Gojass could figure out how. "But perhaps it would be an interesting side project…"

"I'm glad you think so." Arthur said, his tone dry. "Now, my steward should be able to set you up with quarters to your liking. A workshop might take some time, but until we can build it there's an excellent barn near the castle's south wing you can store your— what did you call it?"

"Micro-Levitate Ship." Gojass confessed.

Arthur frowned. "That's a terrible name. We'll have to come up with a better one."

"I know," sighed Gojass.

Before long, the micro-Levitate Ship (name subject to change) was secure in the barn. "Take the rest of the day to get accustomed to the city," Arthur suggested. "You can begin in the morning."

"No, thank you." Gojass replied. "I would like to start now. Where do your boys find these lumps of metal?"

"I don't know." Arthur answered. "But perhaps Isak can tell you. You'll find him feeding the chickens this time of day."

The chicken coop was a small building to the side of the barn, with a low wooden fence forming a yard about twenty feet on a side. A boy of about nine or ten was squatting among the animals, placing a few seeds before each one, ensuring that they all got a share.

"Isak?" Gojass called. The boy ignored him. "Isak?" Gojass repeated. He stepped over the low fence, an the movement caused the boy to look up. Still Isak said nothing, just put a finger to his lips. He finished feeding the chickens, then walked with great care to the edge of the fence. He stared at Gojass.

"I'm looking for where you found the metal." Gojass said. "Can you show me?"

He nodded, and started walking. Gojass followed as they exited the palace from the small rear gate and set off along the beach. It would have been lovely country, if it were about thirty degrees warmer and with more sun. As it was, the sand was a dirty grey color, before giving way to spray-dampened rocks. Great veins of reddish ore filled them, but even Gojass could tell it wasn't iron. It was red, true, but closer to pink than rust colored. The waves were close, and Gojass came close to plunging into the sharp cracks several times as Isak led him on. Still, a brilliant scientist such as Gojass would not be outdone by a mere boy.

They stopped at last before a pitted, desolate landscape. The pinkish-red rocks formed a low shelf here, washed over by the constant motion of the waves. Small craters dotted the expanse, filled with seawater and loose bits of organic material. Isak picked his way across the shelf, ignoring the waves as they swept across his feet, the undertow sucking at his ankles. He bent over one of the small craters and picked through the rocks within. A moment later, he drew out a small lump of the same metal and held it out.

"Interesting." Gojass mused, accepting the silvery lump. As before, it was lighter than expected. "How does it come to be here? Is it washed in by the sea?"

Isak shrugged. He pointed to the outcroppings of rock that surrounded the shelf, which were crumbling in places. Small lumps of the reddish stone were falling into the water.

So. Somehow the rock was turned into metal by the sea. Gojass looked about. But how? It couldn't be the seawater alone, or the cliffs themselves would be metal by now. As if answering his question, thunder boomed, and Isak looked up startled. He tugged on Gojass's sleeve, indicating he should hurry. They scrambled up the slope as the rain began pouring down in earnest, lightning cracking over the water.

"Will the weather always be this miserable?" Gojass sighed. Isak shot him a pitying look, and nodded.


	2. Chapter 2

"…And this is the barracks where we keep the Silhouette Knights." Arthur finished, indicating a largish stone building near the castle's western wall. "Your office will be built nearby for quick access, of course."

"Of course." Gojass agreed.

They entered the cavernous, gloomy building, and Gojass could not help but sigh when he saw the pitiful, outdated Silhouette Knight models that rested on their stone benches. There were only six, and he had a suspicious feeling that these six were the only ones Brittania had. They were old Zaloudek models, at least a dozen generations out of date. Two of them looked nonfunctional, their entire outer frames were open, exposing a tangle of Crystal Tissue fibers, stretched over a frame that had seen several lifetimes of use.

"These are your Silhouette knights?" Gojass asked, more than a little aghast.

"I'm afraid so." Arthur admitted. "They're not in the best condition…"

"I'd have thrown them out as scrap were I in Zaloudek." Gojass interrupted. "Even looking at them now, I can see that you're going to need to replace the entire frames if you want it to do anything more strenuous than a slow walk, much less fight anything."

"Well, that's the dilemma." Arthur agreed. "We don't have the resources to fix them ourselves, and despite what you may think of the treasury, importing the necessary materials would drain it completely, only for the Knights themselves to end up like this all over again."

"Nonetheless, this will not do." Gojass insisted. "I must have the proper materials!"

"This is why I hired you." Arthur answered, unperturbed. "War is like throwing money into a fire. It vanishes with no discernible effect. We need an engineer of your caliber not to make the Silhouette Knights more powerful, but to make them more enduring. I need a Knight that can last for a hundred years and still fight, not one that could wipe out an army and fall apart next week."

"I see." Gojass said, stroking his chin. "A challenge worthy of my talents. I will need a staff, of course."

"You have one, he's around here somewhere." Arthur replied. " GEORGE!" he shouted.

A bedraggled, graying head emerged from one of the damaged machines. "What?" a voice asked.

"Come meet your new boss, George!" Arthur replied.

"Agh, another one?" George complained, worming his way out of the tangled wires and cables. A rotund man emerged, saved from being fat only by his impressive height. His hair was a tangled grey mess, chunks of it missing or filled with what appeared to be mud. His hands were callused and exerted a crushing strength as he ambled over and shook Gojass' hand. A film of motor oil was left behind.

"Oratio Gojass, at your service." Gojass said.

"George Foreman, at yours, I guess." George replied. "What can I do for ya?"

"Why don't you begin by telling me what condition all these Knights are in, before we get into the supply of replacement parts and the overhaul cycles of the Ether Reactors?"

"Alright." George turned and pointed. "Dead, dead, dead, dead, mostly dead, fine." He indicated each Silhouette knight in turn. "As for spare parts, I've got two paper clips and a dead rat. The Ether Reactors haven't been overhauled since the gods created the world, but Number One, Four, and Five all still run."

Gojass pinched the bridge of his nose against a rising headache. "Then it would appear we've got a lot of work to do."

Gojass spent the next three days going over each machine in elaborate detail with George Foreman and the gaggle of part-time mechanics who sometimes assisted in the barracks. Gojass was informed that most of them worked as machinists or clockmakers in the city, and worked in the barracks as a sort of hobby. Most were young men and women who came to goggle the huge machines and pester George with questions as much as to actually help. The machines were, if possible, in worse shape than Gojass had first suspected. Many of their steel parts had failed over decades in the humid, seaside climate. Instead of pay the exorbitant fees to ship replacements all the way north, George had made the decision to carve replacements out of wood. They would never stand up to actual movement, but served as a mold for the joint, and served as a blueprint for the perpetually-delayed replacement.

The only highlight of the entire tour was when George showed Gojass the few small parts he'd been able to replace with the odd metal found of Brittania's coast. Gojass had learned the locals referred to the metal as "brittanium", and it was significantly lighter than if the parts had been made of steel. George revealed that the metal was not as strong as the Knight's armor plating, but it was resistant to corrosion and was lighter and thus easier to move around.

"It all seems to come back to brittanium." Gojass remarked at one point, hefting a small lump of it in his hand.

"We use it for as much as we can, up here." George agreed. "If demand weren't so high at home, we'd sell it to other countries. As it is, we mostly trade in wool or leather for whatever we need."

"And if a means to mass-procure brittanium were found…" Gojass mused, "It would have tremendous benefits."

"Without a doubt." Foreman agreed. "Not to mention how much lighter and more agile we'd be able to make the Silhouette Knights."

Oratio Gojass was bent over his new desk, installed earlier that week. He could already feel the next headache coming on as he stared at the expanse of rich varnished wood, empty but for three items. One was a pinkish-red stone, flecked with small spots of coal. The second was a small bowl of ocean water, more for symbolic reasons than anything else. The third was a lump of brittanium, uncut and lumpy.

There had to be a connection somewhere. Gojass was certain that these stones were an ore of some kind. Then there was the sea water. Further inspection had revealed that the entire island practically rested on a bed of the stuff he had elected to call "Box-ite", a reference to its status as a sort of mystery box, for there was something within it that Gojass was still missing. He had tried applying extremes of temperature and force, even setting up an Ether reactor to send thousands of units of mana through the stone. Nothing had worked.

For the hundredth time that day, thunder rumbled outside. The weather of the past two weeks had held true to Isak's prediction. Rain, from a miserable drizzle to a window-shaking torrent, was a constant on the island. Lightning flashed again, and Gojass watched the white-hot bolt strike the water far out at sea. Half a minute later, the rumble sounded again. Gojass narrowed his eyes as an idea began to coalesce in his mind.

Gathering up the lump of Boxite, Gojass stepped through the rear door into the Silhouette Knight barracks. George Foreman, as usual, was shoulder deep in Unit Four. Cables and piping spilled all over him, giving the appearance of a man midway through being devoured by some ancient sea beast.

"George, fetch a hammer and give me some help, please." Gojass instructed. "I may be on the verge of an important discovery!"

With a sigh, George extracted himself from the machine's embrace and located the requested tool. "What is it now?" he grumbled.

"Break this stone in half." Gojass told him. "Pulverize one of the halves, but leave the other whole."

As the ringing sound of the hammer filled the space, Gojass scavenged about to find a large curved piece of steel armor plate and sent Isak out with a bucket to fetch some seawater. The water, dust, and stone were mixed together inside the impromptu witches' cauldron, and Gojass stuck two graphite rods into the muddy mixture to serve as conductors.

"Now, how much mana can Unit four send through that?" Gojass asked.

"About fifty thousand, I think." George replied. With surprising agility, he climbed through the hatch and set about bringing the machine's Ether Reactor online. Gojass unclipped the main power cables from the back and attached one to each rod, taking pains to ensure they did not touch and cause a short circuit.

George Foreman threw the final switch, and the Ether Reactor hummed as it warmed up. Thunder rumbled outside once more, and Gojass grinned as sparks danced across the surface of the basin. The Ether Reactor whined louder and louder as Foreman eased the throttle wide open, and the murky water began to bubble and roil. There was a flash, and at once the mixture exploded. A hot fist of steam bowled Gojass and Isak over, a chunk of steel plating embedding itself in the wall above Gojass' head.

In the middle of a scorched crater on the floor, a small lump of silvery metal gleamed.

"I've done it!" Gojass exulted. "I have created Brittanium in a controlled environment!"

George Foreman crawled out of the Silhouette Knight's cockpit, coughing on the clouds of smoke that emerged with him.

"You and I need to have a long talk about your definition of 'controlled'." He said.

"Yes, yes." Gojass swatted away the objection like a bothersome gnat. "I think the king will want to hear of this."

"Well done!" Arthur grinned like a child for a moment. "Will it be difficult to mass-produce?"

"Not at all." Gojass replied. "And once it _is_ mass-produced, I've had a few thoughts of my own on the usefulness of brittanium."

"Do tell."

"It's a light metal, but still somewhat more fragile than true steel." Gojass explained. "This makes it poorly suited to form the structures of a Silhouette Knight, as we would need to make each piece about forty percent larger to hold up the same weight or stand up to the same impacts. I have a few ideas that may alleviate these issues, but The larger picture is this. These same properties that make it ill-suited for ground combat make it ideal for flying machines, which depend much more on maneuverability and speed than sheer strength. Therefore, I urge you to consider devoting your resources towards the creation of a Flying Knight Corp rather than continuing to use the outdated Zaloudek models."

"A Flying Knight Corp?" Arthur mused. "Well, you've certainly proven yourself so far. I'll assign one of my engineers to test out your methods of artificial brittanium production, and we'll begin work on a refinery once the concept is proven. Until then, keep working on your flying machines."

"With pleasure, Milord." Gojass bowed and made his exit.

The micro-Levitate ship (name subject to change) was rolled out from its place in the stables, and Gojass set tow work, disassembling its main structure and sails. He took a brief stock of the parts before hunching over his desk to begin drafting. The basic mechanism of the Levitate Ship need not change. But several ideas had been fermenting in Gojass' brain during his long flight to Brittania. He sketched out the basic setup of the Levitate Engines, then added a pair of large triangular sails, set on the same plane. The structure around the control seat would be lengthened and narrowed, for air to better flow over its surface. The last new addition was a pair of large divots near the nose, taking advantage of the craft's forward movement to direct Ether-rich air into the Reactor.

The result, Gojass concluded, was an odd-looking machine indeed. It bore a passing resemblance to some sort of bird, but it was all hard angles and aggressive, sharp-looking points. Gojass penned his name at the top of the blueprint, along with the words: "Type 1 Air Striker"

[Author's note: a few liberties have been taken in describing the aluminum refining process, but the overall concept is a result of a very thorough reading of the Wikipedia entry.]


End file.
